'Freaky' dolphin loves beards — and this viral photo is proof

On a recent vacation to Mexico, Juwan Nicholson embarked on a dolphin expedition with the hopes of learning more about the sea creatures. However, he got even more than he asked — and a funny photo that’s led to viral fame.

Nicholson shared a snapshot from his swimming adventure showing a dolphin reaching in for a kiss while Nicholson reacts with a shocked face and pulls away. “Dolphin was a whole freak, trainer said she liked beards but I ain’t believe her lmaoo,” he captioned the image. As with any funny animal photo, this one is gaining popularity fast. So far, it’s received almost 42,000 retweets and 125,000 likes.

“I went on an excursion in Cabo where I learned about dolphins, how they act, how they interact, and what they like to do,” Nicholson tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “After learning about them, they took us to the pool where we met with our female dolphin. I was asked to get into the pool to play with her and take a few pictures.”

This is when the beard-loving fest began. “The trainer at hand warned me that this particular dolphin liked beards, but I brushed it off thinking it was just a silly joke. Boy was I wrong.” When he got into the pool, he was instructed to kiss the dolphin, “which I attempted to; first it was a harmless kiss on the cheek and the next thing I know she was basically trying to put her tongue down my throat!” he recalls. “As you can see from the picture it took me by surprise. It was all in good fun and the dolphin was amazing! It actually made me want to research more about them.”

Apparently, people can relate to Nicholson’s experience. “I have a pic exactly like this lmao,” someone responded to his tweet.